What were your first guitars?

[bry4321]

Ibanez Destroyer X-shaped guitar. Worked all through spring break to pay for it. Later put in an Invader bridge pickup and new neck for some stupid reason.

1963 Telecaster. Can’t remember what I paid, $400-500 ballpark. Later sold it to pay rent.  😳🤷‍♀️

Only Hamer until a couple of years ago was a TLE with a sustain block that I sold during a move. 

While we are going down memory lane, first amp was some kind of Peavey Renown. [EDIT: I am probably mis-remembering, this one came after some smaller Peavey]

Similar to these 🤘

 

 

Edited September 9, 2024 by bry4321

[it's me HHB]

A year on the ubiquitous Yamaha nylon string then a 72 strat appeared for $125, got a job at the bakery after school to repay my rather stingy dad

[BTMN]

August 1977 scored an Ibanez just like this Electra. Sold it a year later but have always wanted another. Missed a couple on Evilbay but finally bought this to remind me of it. 

[G Man]

Some random Yamaha acoustic, my first electric was a Peavey Falcon with a Floyd Rose licensed bridge.  I don't have, nor miss, either of them.

[mathman]

Hondo II. Les Paul copy  decent guitar.  First amp an old sunn amp with a 4x10 cabinet.  Wish I still had the Sunn but not the hondo. 

[DaveH]

One like this. "Steel Reinforced Neck", no truss rod 😂

Edited September 8, 2024 by DaveH

[kizanski]

C. 1983 - ‘74 Les Paul Deluxe with “Gibson” in raised letters on the P-90s. 
$475 on 48th street.  
 

[HSB0531]

Starting off as a kid:  Emenee Tiger guitar w/amp,  No-name nylon string acoustic,  Harmony Acoustic w/50's Gibson PAF (yeah I know),  Favilla F5 Acoustic,  Kay Strat copy w/Ampeg Jet amp.   Later on in '84 I acquired a Sears Silvertone single p/u guitar with the amp/case.

 

Edited September 8, 2024 by HSB0531

[Travis]

First guitar was an Alvarez Regent acoustic. First electric was a cheap Yamaha RGZ 2-something. First quality guitar was my ‘89 Charvel 650xl with an ‘88 serial number, bought NOS in ‘92. Still have it…

[Submariner85]

A cheap strat knock off. 

[Steve Haynie]

My first guitar was an Electra Telecaster copy that I got around 1977 along with an Alamo Jet amplifier. 

My father had a Sigma acoustic that I could play, and he bought a Conrad (Matsumoku) violin shaped electric guitar with a Fender Vibro-Champ amplifier.  I still have those today. 

In high school I had a 1957 Les Paul Junior that had a six-on-a-side set of tuners, and I had tuning issues with it.  So, I traded it off.  I miss that guitar. 

[bry4321]

1 hour ago, Steve Haynie said:

I had a 1957 Les Paul Junior that had a six-on-a-side set of tuners

wait -- what?

[HSB0531]

4 minutes ago, bry4321 said:

wait -- what?

My same thoughts as you

But this maybe??

https://reverb.com/item/1884161-vintage-1960-s-gibson-kalamazoo-usa-kg-2a-electric-guitar-w-tremolo-original-case-very-rare

Edited September 8, 2024 by HSB0531

[Steve Haynie]

The Les Paul Junior had a normal headstock.  The person who sold it to me put a new set of tuners on it, but they were meant for a Strat or any other guitar that had all six tuners in a line.  So, three tuners on one side were OK.  They were upside down on the other side.  That guitar would not stay in tune.  I knew nothing about setups and intonation at the time.

[cmatthes]

I started with a Hondo II LP copy.  Bolt-on, and honestly, not great, but it was an electric guitar, so I was happy!  That was when I was in Middle School.  I saved up for years and finally had enough to buy a brand new Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Custom a few years later at 16.  I still have it, but it looks way different.  I had PRS refinish it in the 90s, when you could talk them into doing such things, and I just said I wanted it to be Blue.  It came out with a tag that said “Experimental Blue Holoflake”, and I honestly dig it, even though I had zero idea what they were going to do.  The next year, they did a run of Holoflake Standards, so guess my guitar (and the congas for the Santana Band) were the guinea pigs.

I finally got my first Hamer 3 years later - a Ferrari Red ‘83 Special with a Floyd.

[Hamerica]

5 hours ago, G Man said:

Some random Yamaha acoustic, my first electric was a Peavey Falcon with a Floyd Rose licensed bridge.  I don't have, nor miss, either of them.

Interesting, I had a similar first guitars.  Acoustic was a Yamaha FG something I remember being a decent guitar.  
 

The first electric was a Peavey Falcon Custom and the first amp was a Peavey Backstage 50.   Sold the Peavey here at the HFC. The Backstage 50, I still have a decent with solid state amp.  HamStd has the ability to find the sweet spot in that amp.  

The pictures are representative of the trio.  

Hamerica 
 

 

[HSB0531]

8 minutes ago, cmatthes said:

I started with a Hondo II LP copy.  Bolt-on, and honestly, not great, but it was an electric guitar, so I was happy!  That was when I was in Middle School.  I saved up for years and finally had enough to buy a brand new Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Custom a few years later at 16.  I still have it, but it looks way different.  I had PRS refinish it in the 90s, when you could talk them into doing such things, and I just said I wanted it to be Blue.  It came out with a tag that said “Experimental Blue Holoflake”, and I honestly dig it, even though I had zero idea what they were going to do.  The next year, they did a run of Holoflake Standards, so guess my guitar (and the congas for the Santana Band) were the guinea pigs.

I finally got my first Hamer 3 years later - a Ferrari Red ‘83 Special with a Floyd.

No matter what make/model we got back then, it was a guitar and we then got into a rock band, and to everyone else playing guitar and being in a rock/rock & roll band automatically made you cool.  A no-brainer.

[stedge]

A random acoustic the my dad gave to me. Taught me to play songs he learned when he was in vietnam.  Action was about half an inch at the 5th fret and i doubt the strings were ever changed. 

then i started mowing lawns and cleaning pools   

A japanese Epiphone bolt on acoustic dread from Sam Goody

A Westbury electric that never stayed in tune.  Sam Goody. 
 

A 1980 hamer sunburst in black.  Bought new around 1980.  and a twin reverb that i never bonded with. 
 

Before college i used to go to the Village and the area around Manny’s every once in a while and found (in the village or thereabouts) A 1973 Martin d12-18.  Played this all over Cambridge and got beer money and the love of my life.  She still supports my habit.  I am way lucky. 
 

 

so guitars are good.  Been many since, in and out.  
 

 

[stedge]

And i still have the Hamer and Martin

[scottcald]

My first was a Kay like this one:

https://reverb.com/item/59763747-kay-k1-1960-s-sg-style-with-foil-pickup

My dad got it at a local pawn shop for my birthday in '81.  Action was high, didn't stay in tune well.  I played it for almost a year and then got a Peavey T-60.  I later put EMGs in it and then a Kahler. (Don't use a router if you don't know how, kids.)   I got another T-60 body later and still have that with the hard tail.  Currently, it has Duncan 59's and sounds good.  Great playing guitars.   Just heavy as hell. 

[Hackubus]

I mowed a lot of lawns and raked a bunch of hay to earn enough in August 89 to buy a red 76 Gibson SG Standard.  By the next Christmas, I had saved up to buy a brand new cherry red Gibson Explorer!

[django49]

Oh man.....Back to the dark ages!

Started on bass with a used Harmony hollowbody replica of an Epiphone. Then a St. George 6 string (import) that I got from a friend for under $20. And a well used Silvertone (1448?) guitar with amp in case. Cost me all of $10 and that included an extra D'Armond pickup (which I think I still have).

Upgraded to a Fender DuoSonic for all of $65, then an original Jazzmaster with gold anodized guard for $85. Later sold the JM for $150 and used part of the proceeds, in a very lucky exchange, to get a '56 Goldtop from the original owner for $75......That is what he offered it to me for ("Say WHAT"?) and I, being a nearly broke student taking home $33 a week,  did not argue......There was also a Strat there in the late 60s ($85?), so I reckon that too would be worth something today.

If I was smart, I would still have the 2 Fenders (make that 3) and the Gibson, but never had enough to be able to keep everything.

If I think long enough, there was also an ES-330 for $100, an SG Special for $150 and a couple Gibson archtops for under $200 each.

Them was the good old days...... That stuff happened in the 60s.😉 Lucky to be able to upgrade to that degree that quickly.

Edited September 9, 2024 by django49

[LucSulla]

More or less this and this:

 

 

So much Metallica and Stairway was poorly played on this rig. 

[beezerboy]

dad worked for Sears so 1st was a Silvertone  f hole archtop. then, first electric was a....  "Silivatone" with the case/amp thing.  it became an object of derision in the next few years and I bought my first "real" electric in 1966... a Fender Mustang. I also had a Lyle 12 string electric around that same time. both gone by 1968 when I got a '57 Strat

 

 

 

 

[beezerboy]

... then a '53 Tele. this pic is 1972 or so. yeah... thats what we did in those days, just old guitars